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Stanley and the Flood
Plot It was late April on Sodor, Stanley was waking up to bright sunshine coming through the doorway in his shed Stanley opened his eyes to find his crew, ready to go "Ready for a hard day's work?" asked his driver confidently Stanley was confused. "Hard? All I do is organize the yard and take passengers from the forest around the town to East Great Waterton at the edge of town." The driver smiled, remembering when the construction of East Great Waterton took place. "We're extending the city boundaries by a few hundred acres. The Sodor government let The Mayor of Sodor announce it on the television last week." explained the driver. Stanley was surprised by this. "And what does that mean exactly?" he asked cautiously. "It means we're going to have a lot of construction vehicles. We need construction for this work." "The Pack? Well, that's a nice surprise, isn't it? But I am going to have help, right?" Stanley guessed. "You'll see," chuckled his driver as Stanley steamed out of the shed. "When is The Pack going to arrive?" "Soon enough, Stanley. We have to get things ready first." He puffed through a forest and came to a new area of the town. Nelson was arriving with Jack and Alfie. "Hello!" called Jack. "Hello," replied Stanley cheerfully, but secretly he was a bit stressed by all the new changes to his home. Stanley puffed forward, and beside the line, he saw Patrick and Buster working together to build new roads. "Hello Stanley!" called Buster, "Isn't this impressive?" "It will be if it's ever finished." grumped Patrick. "Hey, be nice. It will be finished soon enough," said the steamroller. Stanley whistled in reply, but suddenly Buster gasped. "Stanley, stop! The new rails haven't been laid yet!" Stanley gasped and braked hard. He stopped, just in time. He looked up to see nothing but forest, and Terence hauling logs. "Ello!" called the tractor. "Hello!" said Stanley quietly. "Well? Do you like all the new changes?" Terence asked. Stanley grimaced. "To be honest... no. I'm still taking it all in. Great Waterton isn't the town I remember anymore." "Oh, what nonsense! Great Waterton will always be Great Waterton." and Terence chugged away. Stanley was still confused about all the news. "Come on Stanley, enough exploring. We still have to collect some passengers." reminded his driver. "Oh. Right..." He puffed back to the yard to collect some coaches. Stanley puffed into the station, and right away he sniffed something. "Ugh! What's that smell?!" he groaned. "Uh... that's me." said a voice nervously. Stanley looked over to see Whiff collecting the town's rubbish, and he looked a little embarrassed. "Oh..." Stanley said quietly. "Hello!" Whiff whistled, "I can tell we've gotten a lot of waste recently! Construction waste, the town's waste... So much scrunching to do!" Stanley wished he had fingers so he could hold his nose; that's how awful the smell was. "Hi, Whiff." Stanley puffed, nearly gagging. "Nice to see you've noticed me." said Whiff cheerily, "I have a lot to do. I have to take this to the dump, then get some scrap from Crocks Scrap Yard! See you later!" and Whiff left. Stanley was relieved as the smell drifted away. "Stanley, that wasn't really... you we saw." Stanley looked over to find Jack looking worried next to him. "Oh, uh..." "You know what I'm talking about." said Jack sternly, "You're usually so kind to everyone. What makes Whiff so different?" Stanley winced and looked at his buffers. He let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll tell you the truth; I strongly dislike Whiff's stench. I feel it just distracts from him. I know its his job, but what's to stop him from having a washdown? I like Whiff... okay, but it gets to be too much sometimes." Jack cringed. "Yeah, I understand. But Whiff is still an engine. I suggest being a bit kinder to him, like the other engines." the front loader said. Stanley started to feel a bit guilty. "...thanks." "It's for the best," said Jack with a small smile. Stanley gulped and he puffed away to get his coaches. But Stanley didn't have much time to think about what he thought about Whiff, because over the next week, Jack, Alfie, Buster, and Patrick weren't the only ones working at Great Waterton. Molly brought Ned, Oliver, and Kelly to help out too. She puffed into the station as the machines were eager to get to work. Stanley looked up to find Molly whistling. "Oh. Hello machines," Stanley chuckled. Ned was probably the most excited of all. "Hello Stanley!" called Ned, "Just like old times, isn't it? Remember when we first restored Great Waterton?" "Yes, except this has Whiff." Stanley grimaced. He suddenly caught himself, but it was too late, everyone had heard what he said. "What's wrong with Whiff?" asked Oliver worriedly. Stanley sighed, not wanting to repeat what he said to Jack. But he knew it was the right thing to do. "I don't like to be rude but...he's smelly. I know, I know, engines get dirty all the time, but Whiff really stinks." Stanley sighed. "What did you expect? Him smelling like flowers?" muttered Patrick. "Well, uh no, but at least a bit more hygienic. I have nothing against Whiff, but his smell is distracting, to say the least." "Of course," chuckled Alfie. Jack glared at Stanley. Stanley looked down to his buffers in shame as the construction vehicles set to work. All went well for the rest of the day. New buildings sprang up, and Stanley had great fun showing the tourists around the forest and seeing birds and other wildlife. But by that very night, the weather turned for the worst. As Stanley looked out of his shed, he gasped. "Oh my!" Dark clouds filled the sky and rain soaked the ground. The soil became very muddy. By the time morning came, he was still very drowsy; Stanley couldn't sleep the night before, for thunder sounded and it kept him from drifting off. "Ugh, already?" he yawned as the crew, in coats, arrived. "Yes Stanley. Come along, we've got work to do." called the driver as Stanley's fire started to burn. As Stanley puffed through the town, he noticed the Pack had a hard time working. Max and Monty had to go slowly so they wouldn't slip off the road. Kelly had to lower his loads carefully or they'd crash in the wind. And the diggers had to be careful or they'd sink. "Must be careful," warned Oliver to the others, "The ground is slippery." "Good thing we're building roads..." muttered Patrick, "They never get slippery!" "Oh, what nonsense." chortled Jack, "Remember when you slid off the road and tumbled over? That was hilarious!" "...don't remind me." grunted Patrick indignantly. Stanley started to worry as the rain pelted down on his boiler. By the afternoon, it was starting to flood. Water started to fly down the streets. "Woah!" cried Patrick as some water flew past his wheels. At the station, Whiff arrived with another train of empty trucks. "Back for a last train of rubbish before the storm." Whiff said. "Probably best to skip the rubbish today." warned Stanley, "The rain's coming down harder than ever now." "Oh my." cried Whiff with worry, "You think there will be a disaster?" "Perhaps. We aren't on very high ground unlike Culdee Fell, so who knows?" Stanley worried. They watched as slowly but surely, the water level started to rise. "I think maybe it's best to quit working for today," said Kelly worriedly, "Patrick, get off the road!" "I'm trying!" cried Patrick desperately. A small wave of water raced through town and splashed onto the houses. "Yikes, we better get out of here, quick!" cried Whiff, "Before the water floods the tracks and we'll be doomed!" "Good idea!" agreed Stanley, but suddenly he heard a loud yell. Stanley was alarmed; some people came running out of their houses, scrambling into buses and cars to get out of the town as quickly as possible, but the water was starting to flood the roads, so going down the road was no longer safe. The people ran back to the station, hoping there would be a train; it was a very unstable evacuation. A loud voice boomed, "Every citizen of Great Waterton, there's a flood coming up to your town, and it's coming up fast! All engines and people get out of there, quickly!" The Pack were so scared they didn't know what to do. "H-how do we get out of here?!" burst out Patrick. "Run for your life!" cried Jack and he started to run away, but Whiff blew his whistle loudly. "Don't! I have a better idea," said Whiff. "What's that?" asked Alfie, who was very scared, "We don't exactly have a lot of time!" "There's some flatbeds and wellwagons in the yard. I'll go get them." Whiff cried as he was uncoupled from his rubbish trucks. "But what about your train?" asked Stanley. "Like you said, it can wait! Now hurry!" yelled Whiff as he reversed into the yard. His driver coupled up the train quickly and Whiff steamed next to the construction vehicles. "Get onto my flatbeds! Quick!" "Don't need to tell me twice!" said Oliver. The Pack raced onto the line of flatbeds and Whiff whistled triumphantly. "Onto higher ground, and away from here!" Whiff said. But Stanley was very scared. "Wh-what about me?" "Stay with the people, Stanley! They need a way to be saved!" Whiff persisted. "But you can't haul all those heavy vehicles!" Stanley stuttered. Whiff smirked. "Just you watch!" The rubbish engine struggled out of Great Waterton to the hills nearby, where it was safe. Stanley, meanwhile, looked for some coaches. He quickly spotted some, just as a wave of water splashed against the station building. Stanley gulped and quickly reached the siding. With no time to waste, the train reached the platform. "Quick! Get into my coaches!" shouted Stanley, "There's just enough room for everyone!" The people clambered into every coach. Every seat was packed and it was very crowded, but nobody cared; they just wanted to be away from the danger. Stanley blew his whistle and his pistons pumped. He raced off as fast he could through the town. But the water kept on rising as he started to the hill. Water lapped at his wheels, and down below, a giant wave of water crashed into the station building. With a loud crash, it collapsed to the ground. Stanley fought off his sadness as he looked up to the giant hill. "I can do it," Stanley puffed as he started to climb. "Come on Stanley, you can do it!" encouraged Whiff, who was watching from atop. "Go Stanley!" cheered Ned. The rest of The Pack honked their horns in agreement. Stanley's wheels slipped on the wet rails, and the water continued to rise. He started to doubt his strength. "I can't save the entire town," he moaned, "I can't..." "You have to try, Stanley!" cried his driver, "All these people are counting on you!" The silver tank engine looked back to find people looking out their windows and chanting his name. "Stanley! Stanley! Stanley!" "...alright sir. I'll give it my all!" Stanley persisted on as water flew down his sides and onto the coaches. Luckily Stanley had just enough sand in his sandbox to grip the rails. Now he was halfway up, but that didn't stop Stanley. He started to speed up, even though the water rose a bit more. "You can do it!" cried Jack, "I know you can!" Stanley grinned as he started to see the top. "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" he exclaimed. Everyone smiled as Stanley could be seen on the slope, almost at the top. "Come on, one more puff!" cried his driver. Wheel turn by wheel turn, and puff by puff, Stanley, slowly but surely, made it to the top. His cheeks were redder than ever before and he was very tired indeed, but he didn't care. "I... saved the people of Great Waterton!" Stanley exclaimed. Whiff grinned and blew his whistle. Jack started to honk his horn, and soon, all of The Pack were cheering for Stanley. The passengers clapped inside their coaches. "Well done!" cheered the passengers, "You saved our lives!" Stanley felt tired, but he felt very proud indeed to save so many. The next day, the rain had stopped, and the sun shone through again. "About time," murmured Whiff, "I couldn't take any more of that." Stanley chuckled. A loud "honk" was heard. It was Winston, with the Fat Controller inside. "Winston, now's not the time to malfunction!" "I'm not trying to malfunction, sir! I think you just... don't know how to drive..." Winston squirmed. "It's early days, Winston." "It is?" Winston screeched to a halt, and looked down the hill. He gasped as he saw the devastated town. "Goodness... That's Great Waterton?!" "I'm afraid so," said Stanley sadly. The Fat Controller got out of Winston and surveyed the damage. What he saw wasn't the best. "(sigh) I suppose we'll have to rebuild some of the city... but at least everybody got out okay." the Fat Controller said solemnly, "Our plans will not be canceled." Scruff puffed up, in the opposite direction. "Ello! Did I miss anything?" he grinned. "You have no idea," said Whiff, "I saved The Pack and Stanley saved the people." Scruff gasped. "Wow!" Winston grinned. "Great Waterton is safe after all!" "Thanks to Stanley and my pal Whiff!" beamed Scruff proudly, "It makes me glad to collect rubbish!" "Indeed. He saved us from washing away," said Kelly. "Without Whiff, we'd probably be sunk," agreed Alfie. The Fat Controller was very pleased with his two engines. As he walked up to them, he smiled broadly. "Well done to both of you. You are both indeed Enterprising Engines, in my book. Your quick thinking saved many lives yesterday. Even while in an emergency, you still kept at it and it paid off in the end." Stanley grinned. "Thank you, sir." he beamed. A thought struck Whiff. "Hey Stanley, you haven't noticed my smell." grinned Whiff. Stanley suddenly realized this and chuckled. "Well, your identity isn't just your smell, Whiff. Your smell may not be a good one, but you're still useful." "Indeed you are, both of you." agreed Jack and he winked at Stanley. Stanley knew what Jack meant and winked back. Soon, reconstruction began, and everything was soon running like clockwork again. But despite everything, Whiff and Stanley truly did feel like Enterprising Engines indeed. And Stanley respected Whiff more than ever. Characters *Whiff *Sfanley *Scruff *Winston *Terence *Jack *Alfie *Oliver (excavator) *Kelly *Ned *Patrick *Buster *The Fat Controller *Molly (does not speak) *Nelson (does not speak) *Max and Monty (do not speak) *Flora (cameo) *Rocky (cameo) *The Mayor of Sodor (mentioned) Category:Sodor Adventures